Home Boom or Bust in Toronto

On March 11, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) says there were 500 transactions recorded, an all-time record for a single day. "At this rate....March might set the new record for the highest monthly sales activity ever," says TREB president David Pearce. Every month from May 2001 to February 2002, with the exception of November, which came within 100 sales, broke sales records on the MLS, says the board. The current monthly record is May 2001, which saw 7,490 transactions.

Low interest rates, a tight rental market and several years of job growth in the Toronto area are the main reasons for the housing boom. This year mild winter weather helped boost sales in January and February. The spike in sales this week may have been prompted by an interest rate hike and predictions that months of very low interest rates may be coming to an end. Buyers may be thinking that it's time to jump into the market before rates go much higher.